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Abbas Gives Militants Role in Gaza Pullout
(AP/Los Angeles Times) Steve Weizman - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called on Islamic militants Thursday to respect a shaky cease-fire with Israel and gave them a role in preparations for Israel's Gaza withdrawal in an apparent bid to preserve the calm. He had to grant Hamas and Islamic Jihad a formal role in coordinating the pullout with Israel, and in another move, he offered a compromise to settle a prickly dispute over parliamentary elections that has soured his relations with his main rival, Hamas. As Abbas talked with leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza City, not far away, militants fired rockets at Israel for the third day in a row.